Whatnot shelf



Jan. 15, 1952 w. B. PALKMAN 2,582,557

WHATNOT SHELF Filed Jan. 5, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET l Wa/demarfl Pal/rman 2aINVENTOR.

BY mlpnwyfl Attorneys Jan. 15, 1952 w, PALKMAN 2,582,557

WHATNOT SHELF Filed Jan. 5, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Waldemar B. Pa/kmahINVENTOR.

By M

Anmq:

Patented Jan. 15, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WHATNOT SHELFWaldemar B. Palkman, Sacramento, Calif.

Application January 5, 1950, Serial No. 136,916

1 Claim.

This invention relates to the class of furniture, and more particularlyto whatnot shelves or the like which are adapted to be secured in anysuitable room in a home or other building.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel whatnot shelf ofornamental appearance which may be readily secured on the flat part of awall or at the end of cupboards for supporting knicknacks or the likethereon, which shelf can be made from suitable plastic or othermaterial. This whatnot shelf is preferably formed from a minimum numberof parts'and may be sold to the consumer in a knockdown condition andmay be readily and easily put together in a minimum number of steps.

A further object of the invention is to provide a whatnot shelf whichmay be readily adapted for the corners of rooms in the home, whichwhatnot shelf is especially adapted for use in the kitchen.

Still further objects of the invention reside in the provision ofwhatnot shelves that are strong, durable, highly eflicient in operation,extremely ornamental in appearance, capable of being readily and easilyfabricated and assembled, and which are quite inexpensive.

These, together with the various ancillary ob- J'ects of the invention,which will become apparent as the following description proceeds, areattained by these whatnot shelves, the preferred embodiments of whichhave been illustrated, by way of example only, in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view as taken from the rear of the whatnotshelf adapted to be used in the corners of the rooms of a home;

Figure 2 is a perspective detail showing the manner in which the bracescomprising one element of the invention are secured to the peripheralflange extending downwardly from the shelf plate of the whatnot shelves;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view as taken along line 33 in Figure1;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the whatnot shelf showing itsornamental appearance most clearly;

Figure 5 is a perspective view as taken from the rear of the whatnotshelf adapted to be secured on flat surfaces;

Figure 6 is another perspective view of the whatnot shelf shown inFigure 5 and more clearly illustrating the ornamental appearance of thisform of the shelf;

Figure 7 is a perspective detail showing the manner of securing thebraces to the flanged shelf plate of the invention; and

Figure 8 is a horizontal sectional view as taken along line 8-8 inFigure 5.

With continuing reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals designate similar parts throughout the various views,the reference numeral I0 generally designates the first form orembodiment of whatnot shelf which is adapted to be emplaced in thecorners formed by intersecting walls of a room. This form of whatnotshelf consists of a shelf plate l2 which has a peripheral flange I4downwardly depending therefrom and secured thereto. The flange I4 isformed with a pair of recesses l6 therein'which are adapted to receivetenons l8 formed on "braces and 22 which downwardly depend from theflange I4. The braces 20 and 22 are formed with tenons 24 and 26thereon, respectively, which are adapted to engage within suitablerecesses in a center assembly block 28 of suitable ornamentalappearance. The recesses for reception of the tenons 24 and 26 intersecteach other at right angles.

The assembly block 28 is preferably formed in the shape of aright-angled sector of a cylinder. The braces 20 and 22 are directed ina manner so as to intersect each other and meet at substantially rightangles. The shape of the shelf plate I2 is that of a substantiallyright-angled sector of a circle.

The braces'20 and 22 together with the flange l4 are provided withapertures 30 through which screws, nails or the like may be emplaced forsecuring the whatnot shelf to the comer surface. Thus, there is providedan extremelyattractive shelf for supporting knicknacks or other objects.The whatnot shelf may be sold to a prospective purchaser in a knockdownassembly, that is, with the braces removed from the recesses in theflange l4 and in the assembly block 28, and the entire device packedfiat in a box.

Referring now to the embodiment shown in Figures 5 through 8, which formof the invention is especially adapted for being secured to a flatsurface of a wall or cabinet, which embodiment is generally designatedby the reference numeral 50, it will be seen that the shelf plate inthis form comprises a substantially semi-circular plate 52. Dependingfrom the arcuate, edge of this plate 52 is a peripheral flange 54. Aplurality of recesses 56 are formed in the plate 52 and likewiserecesses 58 are formed in the flange 54. A plurality of braces 60, 62and 64 are provided and are adapted to be secured by emplacing pins 66in recesses 56 and pins 68 in recesses 58. As can be readily seen inFigure 7, the pin 66 is provided with a diagonally cut away portion 10so that the brace may be readily secured to the flange and the plate 52.

A semi-cylindrical assembly block 12 is provided with a doubleddovetailed recess 14 wherein, together with an intersecting aperture 16in communication with the recess 14 and extending at right anglesthereto. The braces 60 and 64 are provided with dovetailed tenons l8 and80, respectively. The brace 62 is provided with a pin 82 adapted toengage within the aperture 16 in communication with the recesses. Inthis manner, the braces 60, 62 and 64 are rigidly and firmly secured tothe assembly block 12. While it is quite desirable to glue the pins 68and 88 within the apertures 56 and 58 and glue the tenons 18 and 80 andpin 82 within the communication recesses and apertures, it is quitefeasible to merely interlock these members. The interlock of thesemembers will maintain them in a rigidly secure manner.

The braces 64 and 60 are each provided with apertures 84 for securingthese whatnot shelves to the wall surface on which they are to be used.Similar to the embodiment shown in Figures 1 through 4, this form of theinvention may be readily packed in a disassembled manner for purchase bythe consumer.

Since, from the foregoing, the construction and advantages of thesewhatnot shelves are readily apparent, further description is believed tobe unnecessary.

However, since numerous modifications will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art after a consideration of the foregoing specificationand accompanying drawings, it is not intended to limit the invention tothe exact embodiment shown and described but all suitable modificationsand equivalents may be resorted to which fall within the scope of theappended claim.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A whatnot shelf comprising a shelf plate of substantially the shape of aright angled sector I/ of a circle, said plate having a peripheralflange secured thereto, a pair of braces secured to said flanges andconverging towards each other in planes which perpendicularly intersect,and an assembly block having recesses intersecting at right anglestherein, each of said braces having a tenon secured in one of saidrecesses.

WALDEMAR B. PALKMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

